Systems and methods for providing fantasy sports contests based on subevents

ABSTRACT

Fantasy sports contests based on segments of a single sports event. A segment or subevent may be a portion of a single sports event. The users choose a roster of selections to form an fantasy sports contest team roster. Fantasy points are awarded to the user for the real-life performance of the selections on the fantasy sports contest team roster according to rules of the fantasy sports contest. In one embodiment, the user is presented with bonus questions asking for predictions on the outcome of real-life action during a subevent of the a televised competition. Fantasy points may be awarded to users making correct predictions. The bonus questions may supplement fantasy scoring from the users&#39; team rosters, or may be presented as a stand alone interactive sports contest.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to fantasy sports contest systems and methodsand, more particularly, fantasy sports contests based on subeventswithin a sporting event.

Athletic endeavors have long supported a broad range of secondarycompetitions which include wagering on the outcome of particular gamesand wagering on the performance of a particular player.

In known fantasy sports contests, the user selects a roster, a team, aparticular individual, or a group of individuals in an athletic contest.The user of a fantasy sports contest system is given the ability to takeon the role of a fictional general manager with powers which may includethe ability to draft, trade, dismiss and otherwise manage the player orplayers on the user's fantasy sports team.

Conventionally, the rules in a fantasy sports contest are set by afantasy sports contest system provider, or are set by a leaguecommissioner who sets the rules under which a group of fantasy orrotisserie sports game users competes against each other. For example,for every goal scored in real-life by a member of the user's fantasysoccer team, a conventional fantasy sports contest system might awardfive points to the user in the fantasy competition.

A provider of a conventional fantasy sports contest system may alsoprovide additional services, which include providing statisticalinformation on real-life games and players, tracking users' scores inthe fantasy contest, and enabling transactions and other interactionsamong the users.

A fantasy sports contest may be based on a variety of real-life athleticevents, and typically involves users selecting players from real-lifeteam sports (e.g., football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer orrugby), selecting players from real-life sports where individualscompete (e.g., golf, tennis or automotive racing), or selectingcompetitors from competitions involving animals (e.g., horse and dogracing). The user's selections are typically stored in the user'sfantasy sports contest roster. The performance of these selections inreal-life competition determines the user's performance in the fantasysports competition.

A fantasy sports contest goes beyond traditional one-time wageringapplications (e.g., selecting picks for the winners of a weekend'sfootball games or picking who will win a most valuable player award).

Known fantasy sports contests are based on the cumulative performance ofthe user's selections over a prolonged period (e.g., an entire season inthe subject sport). In order to succeed, the user must devote a largeamount of time in order to manage a fantasy sports contest team rosteras a season progresses. This necessary commitment over a prolongedperiod can inhibit user interest in a fantasy sports contest, especiallyamong users interested in fantasy sports contests on a casual basis. Inmany cases, users lose interest and stop participating in the fantasysports contest as a season progresses, especially if the user has fallenbehind in the rankings. The prolonged and involved nature of knownfantasy sports contests also restricts its popularity with would-beusers having only an interest in a single sporting event (e.g., theSuper Bowl™), or would-be users having a casual interest in a segment ofa televised sports contest.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides a fantasysports contest based on subevents of a sports event.

This and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordancewith the principles of the present invention by providing a fantasysports contest application for implementing a fantasy sports contestbased on subevents.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention may beany suitable software, hardware, or both that may be used to implementthe features of the present invention. The fantasy sports contestapplication may be implemented on any suitable platform, or on anysuitable combination of platforms. For example, the user may access thefantasy sports contest application using a cellular phone, mobilecommunications devices, PDAs, PCs, tablet PCs, telephones, and any othersuitable communication device. For example, in an interactive televisionsystem, the fantasy sports contest application may be implemented usinga multichannel set-top box receiver, a two-way remote control, any othersuitable device or any suitable combination of devices.

In an interactive television application, the fantasy sports contestapplication may be invoked by pressing one or more buttons on a remotecontrol, by making a selection from a menu or other presentation ofuser-selectable choices, or by other suitable means by which a selectioncan be made (e.g., a speech recognition command interface).Alternatively, the fantasy sports contest application may beautomatically invoked (e.g., upon a user tuning to a fantasy sportscontest enabled television broadcast).

The fantasy sports contests of the present invention is not limited totraditional fantasy sports contests which are usually season-longcontests based on the real-life performance of a roster of userselections. Included in the fantasy sports contests of the presentinvention are fantasy sports contests that last for all or a part of aseason, fantasy sports contests that last for the duration of a singlesports event (e.g., a round of golf) or a subevent thereof (e.g., nineholes of golf), interactive sports contests that deal with discretesubevents (e.g., a contest addressing whether one or more golfers willmake a hole-in-one on a particular hole), and other interactive sportscontests in which the user's performance is determined, at least inpart, by what happens in a real-life sporting event.

The present invention may offer one or more traditional fantasy sportscontests without including the added aspects (e.g., contests based ondiscrete subevents) of the more broadly defined fantasy sports contestdescribed previously. Such applications would be categorized as“traditional fantasy sports applications.”

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention mayassign the user to a competitive grouping (i.e., league) by geographiclocation, skill level, a combination of these methods, or any othersuitable method. The fantasy sports contest application may have accessto information on the user's prior entries in fantasy sports contests,and information on the user's performance in those entries. Thisinformation may be used to assign each user a skill level attribute, andusers of similar skill level may be grouped together in a competitivegrouping.

Alternatively, the fantasy sports contest application may enable theuser to compete against a select group of users in a “buddy” league.These leagues may be pre-formed by users through the prior purchase of aleague pass into the fantasy sports contest, may be instantly formedusing a league forum chat room, a search tool, a combination of methodsor any other suitable method.

In one embodiment, a fantasy sports contest in accordance with thepresent invention may be based on the performance of the user's rosterof selections (e.g., athletes on the user's fantasy sports contest teamroster) over a subevent of a sports event. As used with respect to thepresent invention, a subevent is a segment of real-life action within asports event. For example, a subevent may be a quarter of play in abasketball game, a single hole in a golf round, or a period of play in ahockey game, etc. By providing a fantasy sports contest based on asegment of a real-life sports event, more than one fantasy sportscontest may be held during the course of a single sports event. Forexample, a fantasy sports contest may be held that last the duration ofeach predefined period of play in a real-life contest.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application may bepresented in conjunction with a television broadcast of a sports event.The fantasy sports contest application may enable the user to selectathletes competing in the televised competition for the user's fantasysports contest team roster. Instant fantasy scoring information may beprovided by the fantasy sports contest application to the user. Thefantasy sports contest application may enable the user to trade athleteswith other users after initially selecting athletes, may enable the userto swap athletes for other athletes competing in the sports event, orboth.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application of thepresent invention may implement fantasy sports contests that havestaggered starting times. For example, if a user tunes to a televisionbroadcast of a sports event sometime after the start of the sportsevent, the fantasy sports contest application may enable the user tojoin in a fantasy sports contest without waiting for a predeterminedstart time of the next fantasy sports contest.

In one suitable arrangement, the fantasy sports contest application mayplace users that indicate a desire to join in the fantasy sports contestwithin a preset time frame (e.g., within fifteen seconds of each other)in the same competitive group. In this way, the user may begin competingin the fantasy sports contest, against the pre-arranged competitivegroup, almost instantaneously after indicating a desire to do so.

In one suitable arrangement, the fantasy sports contest application mayenable the user to begin competing in the fantasy sports contestsubstantially instantaneously. For example, the fantasy sports contestapplication may enable the user to compete by aiming for preset scorelevels, which may represent levels of prizes being offered in thefantasy sports contest. By allowing the user to compete against scorelevels instead of other users, the fantasy sports contest applicationenables instant user participation in the fantasy sports contest.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayimplement multiple fantasy sports contests having different themes andscoring rules simultaneously. For example, the fantasy sports contestapplication may simultaneously present multiple fantasy basketballcontests, each having different rules for converting real-life action tofantasy points, for the same real-life basketball contest. The fantasysports contest application may enable the user to choose a favoredfantasy sports contest to join from among the available selections.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application maydivide a fantasy sports contest into subcontests. For example, a fantasybasketball contest application may divide a fantasy basketball contestinto subcontests on three point shots, on rebounds, on field goalpercentage, on assists, etc. In one suitable arrangement, the user maybe automatically entered in the subcontests when competing in the mainfantasy sports contest. In one suitable arrangement, the fantasy sportscontest application may enable the user to decide whether to compete inthe main fantasy sports contest, any subcontest, or any combinationthereof.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fantasy sports contestapplication may implement fantasy sports contests that pose to the userbonus questions. In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contestmay pose a bonus question asking the user for a prediction on theoutcome of real-life action during a subevent in the sports event. Forexample, a fantasy basketball contest may query the user on whether acertain basketball player will score (e.g., either fantasy or real-lifepoints) on a particular trip down the court. A correct answer may earnthe user fantasy points, whereas an incorrect answer may earn no points,or may result in the deduction of points. Multiple bonus questions maybe pending at any given time in the fantasy sports contest. It should beunderstood that although the subjects of the bonus questions in thisapproach are subevents, a fantasy sports contest involving bonusquestions is not limited to a contest based on a segment of a sportsevent (e.g., a subevent) and may be a traditional fantasy sports contest(e.g., a fantasy sports contest based on an entire season).

Alternatively, the bonus questions may not be based on subevents, andmay be trivia questions or other types challenges that may be related tothe theme of a television broadcast being shown or the athletes on theuser's fantasy sports contest roster.

In one suitable arrangement, bonus questions may be used to supplementfantasy scoring by the user's fantasy sports contest team roster. Inthis case, the bonus questions posed to the user may be, at leastpartially, based on the athletes on the user's fantasy sports contestteam roster. Alternatively, the bonus questions may be presentedindependently as a separate interactive sports contest that does notinvolve a roster of fantasy selections.

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest application may enable theuser to instantly create a fantasy sports contest based on subeventswith a select group of other users. For example, the user watching abasketball contest may instantly create a fantasy sports contest basedon slam dunks for the next five minutes of play. The user may proposethe contest to select other users, who may elect to participate in thefantasy sports contest. These users may then choose a roster of athletesthat they think will perform the most slam dunks in the next fiveminutes. In one suitable arrangement, the fantasy sports contestapplication may enable the user to propose user created bonus questionsto other users.

In one embodiment, a local provider (e.g., a local cable systemoperator) may create a local fantasy sports contest for subevents basedon a television broadcast being shown locally. For example, the YESNetwork™ may provide a fantasy baseball contest for subevents to usersin its operating area based on televised New York Yankees™ baseballcontests.

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest application of the presentinvention may implement a fantasy sports contest based on subevents thatinvolves more than one sports event. In one suitable approach, thefantasy sports contest may involve a series of sports events over aperiod of time (e.g., a weekend). For example, the fantasy sportscontest may combine the fantasy points earned by the user during each ofmultiple sports events to arrive at a final tally. In one suitablearrangement, the fantasy sports contest may weigh the fantasy pointsearned by the user during each of the multiple sports events toemphasize the value of one or more of the sports events.

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest of the present inventionmay be used to implement a fantasy sports contest based on subeventsthat allows the user to interact with the real-life action of sportsevent being televised. In one suitable approach, the fantasy sportscontest application may enable the user to select a roster of athletesfrom those competing in the televised sports event. The user may thensimulate the real-life action in the sports event involving thoseathletes in a video game type challenge to earn contest points (e.g., byvirtually trying to correctly time swinging at a pitch in baseball).

In one embodiment, the present invention may be applied to a non-sportssetting. For example, the present invention may be applied to a contestrelating to the Academy Awards™, (a.k.a., the Oscar™). The user may beasked to choose a roster of actors and actresses in each award category,and may be able to trade, swap, and otherwise change the roster afterthe start of the award show. The contest application may also pose bonusquestions based on the user's roster, the instant action in the awardshow, and other relevant factors. In general, all aspects of the presentinvention described in a sports related setting may be easily adaptedfor use in any non-sports setting.

Further features of the invention, its nature, and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative fantasy sports contest system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an illustrative fantasy sports contest televisionsystem in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an illustrative fantasy sports contest televisionsystem having network nodes in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative display showing how the fantasy sports contestapplication may be invoked from a television broadcast display inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative fantasy sports contest registration screen inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative fantasy sports contest league forum screen inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an illustrative fantasy sports contest league forming screenin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative “Buddy” selection screen in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative league search screen in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of how a sports season may be subdivided intoevents and subevents in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is an illustrative fantasy sports contest application displayprovided concurrently with a related television sports broadcast inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative roster selection screen that may be used toselect and alter the user's fantasy sports contest team roster inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is flow chart of illustrative steps for providing a fantasysports contest based on a subevent in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 14 is flow chart of illustrative steps for providing staggeredstart fantasy sports contests based on subevents in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is flow chart of illustrative steps for providing an instantstart fantasy sports contest based on a subevent in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is an illustrative menu for user selection between multiplefantasy sports contests in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is flow chart of illustrative steps for enabling the user tochoose between multiple, different fantasy sports contests in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is flow chart of illustrative steps for providing a main fantasysports contest and multiple subcontests in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is an illustrative display screen showing how bonus questionsmay be presented to the user in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 20 is flow chart of illustrative steps for providing bonusquestions based on subevents in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 21 is an illustrative display screen showing how the user may beable to access user customized fantasy sports contests and bonusquestions in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is an illustrative display screen showing how the user maycreate a customized fantasy sports contest in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is an illustrative display screen showing how a proposed fantasysports contest may be presented to the user in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is flow chart of illustrative steps for enabling the user tocreate a customized fantasy sports contest based on a subevent inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is an illustrative display screen showing how the user maycreate a customized bonus question in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 26 is flow chart of illustrative steps for enabling the user tocreate a customized bonus question based on a subevent in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is primarily described herein in terms of thefantasy sports contest application. It will be understood that any othersuitable software, hardware, or both may be used in conjunction with thefantasy sports contest application or in place of the fantasy sportscontest application to implement some or all of the features of thepresent invention.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention may beany suitable software, hardware, or both that may be used to implementthe features of the present invention. The fantasy sports contestapplication may be implemented at any suitable location in the systemdescribed in FIG. 1. For example, the fantasy sports contest applicationmay be implemented at user equipment 110, at server 100, or at any othersuitable location (that is not necessarily shown in FIG. 1), or at anycombination of locations. For example, certain portions of the fantasysports contest application may be implemented at user equipment 110(e.g., those portions that implement features involved in userinteraction), whereas certain other portions of the fantasy sportscontest application may be implemented at server 100 (e.g., thoseportions that implement features involved in the processing of clientrequests and in the tracking of the performance of contestants). Anysuch suitable arrangement of the fantasy sports contest application maybe implemented in accordance with the present invention.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention may beused to implement fantasy sports contests that include any suitablesports contest in which the user is given the ability to make decisionsthat may affect the standing of the user in the sports contest. Forexample, in typical team-oriented fantasy sports contests, the user mayparticipate in the capacity of a general manager. In this situation, theuser may be have responsibilities such as creating a team roster (e.g.,drafting players), selecting reserves, making trades, and otherwisemanaging the composition of the user's team roster. It will beunderstood that any other suitable decision-making capability may begiven to the user in a fantasy sports contest in addition to or in placeof those indicated above.

The fantasy sports contest of the present invention need not be limitedor restricted in time. For example, a fantasy sports contest may last anentire season, multiple seasons, a portion of the season, a definiteperiod of time. (e.g., one month, two weeks, three days, one hour,etc.), the duration of a particular event (e.g., Wimbledon, etc.), aportion of a particular event, or any other suitable period of time.

In one suitable approach, fantasy sports contests may include contestsin which the user is not necessarily playing the role of a generalmanager. For example, fantasy sports contests may involve the userdetermining or guessing (i.e., blindly or with calculation) whetherparticular outcomes will occur (e.g., whether a particular golfer willmake the next put). Any such suitable decision-making may be the basisof a fantasy sports contest or a part of a fantasy sports contest.

The fantasy sports contests of the present invention may use anysuitable one or more scoring systems. For example, existing fantasyscoring systems include straight point systems (e.g., points are awardedand subtracted based on real-life plays without regard to theperformance of other players on other fantasy teams in a league),rotisserie systems (e.g., points are awarded based on the user'srelative ranking against other users), head-to-head systems (e.g., usersin a league are matched against one another in a round-robin series ofone-on-one contests during the course of a season). These are merelyillustrative scoring systems. Any other suitable scoring system may beused in the fantasy sports contests of the present invention.

It will be understood that the above are merely illustrative elements offantasy sports contests. Any other suitable arrangement or approach maybe used. It will further be understood that the nature of the fantasysports contests may vary depending on which activity or sport isinvolved or based on any other suitable criteria.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention mayprovide to the user fantasy sports contest information. Fantasy sportscontest information may include any suitable information associated withone or more fantasy sports contests in which the user participates or inwhich the user may have an interest. For example, fantasy sports contestinformation may include information regarding the user's one or morerosters, the user's standing in each of the fantasy sports contests inwhich the user participates, one or more point tallies that the user hasaccumulated in each of the user's respective fantasy sports contests,information regarding the number of trades the user may make,information regarding the amount of fantasy money the user has availableto add players to a roster, information regarding deadlines to maketrades or perform any other suitable task associated with one or morefantasy sports contests, or any other suitable information. Fantasysports contest information may also include information regardingreal-life athletes (e.g., names, statistics, etc.), real-life sportsleagues (e.g., game schedules, standings, etc.), real-life sportingevents (e.g., baseball games, golf tournaments, tennis matches, etc.),sports arenas, weather information, sports commentary, or any othersuitable information regarding real-life sports or events that may havean affect on the one or more fantasy sports contest in which the userparticipates.

Aspects of the operation of fantasy sports contest applications aredescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,918,603 (Hughes, et al.), 5,846,132(Junkin), 5,971,854 (Junkin), and 6,193,610 (Junkin), which are allhereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

An illustrative client/server system in accordance with the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 1. The system illustrated in FIG. 1 may beused as a fantasy sports contest system in accordance with the presentinvention. A fantasy sports contest application may be at leastpartially implemented on server 100.

Server 100 may include one or more servers that may be located at asingle location or across two or more locations (e.g., in a distributednetwork arrangement). Server 100 may access one or more databases (e.g.,databases 104, 106, 114, and 116) that may store information related toa fantasy sports contest. Databases 104, 106, 114, and 116 may storefantasy sports contest information such as the roster of playersavailable for drafting, the schedule for the fantasy sports contest,fantasy sports contest rules, subevents information (e.g., informationon how an event is to be separated into subevents) or any other suitableinformation related to the fantasy sports contest. Communicationsnetwork 108 may be a satellite network, a telephone network, an Internetnetwork, a cable network, or any other suitable communication network.If it is desired to transmit video signals over communication network108, a network that enables relatively high bandwidth transmission(e.g., cable network, satellite network) may be desirable.

The fantasy sports contest information transmitted by server 100 to userequipment 110 includes data which is communicated to users as part ofthe fantasy sports contest such as statistical information, rosters,standings, graphics, video etc. If desired, some of the fantasy sportscontest information may be provided using data sources at facilitiesother than server 100, which are directly connected to user equipment110 via communications network 108.

For example, data related to tracking user interaction with the fantasysports contest application (e.g., to alter the user's roster ofathletes) may be communicated to a location that is separate from server100. Similarly, graphics and video information may be generated by anfacility that is separate from server 100.

Server 100 may distribute the fantasy sports contest application andrelated data to user equipment 110 via communication network 108.

User equipment 110 at each user's location may include processingequipment 119. Processing equipment 119 may be based on a personalcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), acellular phone, a handheld computing device, a PC tablet, etc.Processing equipment 119 may be used to implement the fantasy sportscontest application at the user's location. Alternately, the fantasysports contest application may be partially implemented on server 100and partially implemented on processing equipment 119.

Fantasy sports contest related data may be distributed to user equipment110 periodically (e.g., once per hour or once per week). Fantasy sportscontest related data may also be distributed continuously or on-demandto user equipment 110. A connection may be established to server 100,and any sources of information independent from server 100 throughcommunications network 108. The fantasy sports contest application mayrequest certain fantasy sports contest related data to be sent fromserver 100 and independent sources. Server 100 may include a processorto handle these information distribution tasks. User processingequipment 119 may also include a processor to handle tasks associatedwith implementing a fantasy sports contest application, includingrequesting appropriate information from server 100.

Server 100 may store information on the user of the fantasy sportscontest, which may include information on the user's past history ofentries into fantasy sports contests, and the user's performance inthose entries. This information may also include any suitableinformation such as the user's geographic location, demographics data,etc.

At user equipment 110, display equipment 118 displays fantasy sportscontest information. The fantasy sports contest information may includeaudio information. Audio equipment 120 may be used to output audio info.Audio equipment may include speakers found in televisions, speakers forpersonal computers, or any other suitable audio equipment. The user mayuse input device 112 to access information related to the fantasy sportscontest. Such input devices may include one or more suitable devicessuch as remote controls, keyboards, voice controlled devices, trackballs, computer mice or any other suitable device.

Certain functions such as the user's instructions to make a change inroster choices may require user equipment 110 to transmit data to server100 over communication network 108. If desired, such data may betransmitted using a communications network separate from communicationsnetwork 108 used for fantasy sports contest data. If functions such asthese are provided using communications networks separate from network108, some communications originating from user equipment 110 may be madedirectly with the separate networks.

A number of suitable techniques may be used to distribute graphics andvideo information for the fantasy sports contest. For example, graphicsinformation may be distributed from server 100 in a continuously-loopedarrangement, where the fantasy sports contest application implemented onuser processing equipment 119 may capture appropriate graphics and videoinformation for display from the stream of information beingtransmitted. With such a continuously-looped arrangement, a mapindicating the location of the latest graphics and video information maybe downloaded periodically to user equipment 110. This allows anydatabases used in server 100 for storing graphics and video informationto be updated. Graphics and video information may be downloaded to userequipment 110 periodically and stored locally. Graphics and videoinformation may be accessed locally when needed by the fantasy sportscontest application implemented (at least partially) using processingequipment 119 at the user's location. Another approach involves usingthe fantasy sports contest application to request graphics and videoinformation when needed. Information on the location of graphics andvideo information may be downloaded to user equipment 110, and may beupdated as needed. The fantasy sports contest application implemented(at least partially) using processing equipment 119 may then request andreceive appropriate graphics and video information as needed.

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest application of the presentinvention may be implemented on an interactive television platform. Anillustrative fantasy sports contest system in accordance with thisembodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. Main facility202 may include a fantasy sports contest database 204 for storingfantasy sports contest information such as the roster of playersavailable for drafting, the schedule for the contest, rules, or anyother suitable fantasy sports contest information such as graphics andvideo information. Main facility 202 may also include statisticaldatabase 206 for storing real-life and fantasy sports contest statisticson a pool of athletes being used for the fantasy sports contest.Information from databases 204 and 206 may be transmitted to televisiondistribution facility 208 via communications link 210. Link 210 may be asatellite link, a telephone network link, an Internet link, a cable orfiber optic link, a microwave link, a combination of such links, or anyother suitable communications link. If it is desired to transmit videosignals (e.g., for advertising and promotional videos) over link 210 inaddition to data signals, a relatively high bandwidth link such as asatellite link may be preferable to a relatively low bandwidth link suchas a telephone line.

Television distribution facility 208 is a facility for distributingtelevision signals to users, such as a cable system head end, abroadcast distribution facility, or a satellite television distributionfacility.

The fantasy sports contest information transmitted by main facility 202to television distribution facility 208 includes data which iscommunicated to users as part of the contest such as statisticalinformation, rosters, standings, graphics, video, etc. If desired, someof the fantasy sports contest information may be provided using datasources at facilities other than main facility 202.

For example, data related to tracking player interaction with thefantasy sports contest application may be communicated to a locationthat is separate from main facility 202 and separate from televisiondistribution facility 208. Similarly, graphics and video information maybe generated by a facility that is separate from main facility 202 andtelevision distribution facility 208.

Regardless of its source, graphics and video information may bemaintained on server 212 within television distribution facility 208 ifdesired. Server 212 may be based on one or more computers.

Television distribution facility 208 may distribute fantasy sportscontest applications and related data to user television equipment 214or other user equipment via communications paths 216. This informationmay be distributed over an out-of-band channel on paths 216 and may bedistributed using any of a number of suitable techniques.

Each user may have a receiver such as set-top box 218 or other suitabletelevision or computer equipment into which circuitry similar to set-topbox circuitry has been integrated. For clarity, the present invention isdescribed primarily in connection with user equipment based on a set-topbox arrangement. This is merely illustrative. The fantasy sports contestapplication may be implemented using user television equipment 214 thatis based on a personal computer, a WebTV box, a personal computertelevision (PC/TV), or handheld computing device, etc. If desired, thefantasy sports contest application may be implemented using aclient-server architecture using user television equipment 214 as aclient processor and a server such as server 212.

Fantasy sports contest related data such as statistics, standings,graphics, and video may be distributed to set-top box 218 periodically(e.g., once per hour or once per week). Fantasy sports contest relateddata may also be distributed continuously or on-demand. A connection maybe established to television distribution facility 208 usingcommunication link 210. A request for certain fantasy sports contestrelated data may be sent from set-top box 218 to television distributionfacility 208. Television distribution facility 208 may respond bysending information responsive to the request back to set-top box 218using communications link 216. Main facility 202 may include a processorto handle information distribution tasks. Each set-top box 218 mayinclude a processor to handle tasks associated with implementing afantasy sports contest application on set-top box 218. Televisiondistribution facility 208 may include a processor for tasks associatedwith monitoring the user's interactions with the fantasy sports contestimplemented on set-top box 218 and for handling tasks associated withthe distribution of information related to the fantasy sports contest.

During use of the fantasy sports contest application implemented, atleast in part, on set-top box 218, statistical information relating tothe fantasy sports contest may be displayed on display 220. Set-top box218, and display 220, which may be part of a television, may becontrolled by one or more remote controls 222 or any other suitable userinput interfaces such as a wireless keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, adedicated set of buttons, etc.

Communications paths 216 preferably have a sufficient bandwidth to allowtelevision distribution facility 208 to distribute scheduled televisionprogramming, pay programming, advertisements, promotional productvideos, and other video information to set-top box 218 in addition tothe fantasy sports contest application and related data. Multipletelevision and audio channels (analog, digital, or both analog anddigital) may be provided to set-top box 218 via communications paths216. If desired, fantasy sports contest information may be distributedby one or more distribution facilities that are similar to, butseparate, from television distribution facility 208 using communicationspaths that are separate from communications paths 216 (e.g., usingInternet paths).

Certain functions such as the user's instructions to make a change inthe user's roster choices may require set-top box 218 to transmit datato television distribution facility 208 over communications paths 216.If desired, such data may be transmitted over telephone lines or otherseparate communications paths. If functions such as these are providedusing facilities separate from television distribution facility 208,some of the communications involving set-top box 218 may be madedirectly with the separate facilities.

A number of suitable techniques may be used to distribute graphics andvideo information related to the fantasy sports contest application. Forexample, if each path 216 includes a number of traditional analogtelevision channels, one or more of these channels may be used tosupport a number of digital channels. The bandwidth of each analogchannel that is used to support digital channels may support ten or moreof such digital channels. If desired, graphics and video information maybe provided from server 212 or other suitable equipment at televisiondistribution facility 208 in a continuously-looped arrangement on thesedigital channels. Information provided to set-top box 218 may then beused to determine which digital channels to tune to when it is time todisplay a desired graphic or video. Alternatively, graphics and videosmay be provided on demand. With this approach, set-top box 218 andserver 212 may negotiate to determine a channel on which to provide thedesired graphics and videos. Videos that originate from main facility202 or a separate facility may be distributed to user televisionequipment 214 using these or other suitable techniques or a combinationof such techniques.

As shown in FIG. 3, the capabilities of server 212 at televisiondistribution facility 208 may be distributed to servers 300 located atnetwork nodes 302. Servers such as servers 300 may be used instead ofserver 212 or may be used in conjunction with a server 212 located attelevision distribution facility 208.

Information related to the fantasy sports contest may be downloadedperiodically (e.g., once per day) to set-top box 218 of FIG. 2 andstored locally. This information may be accessed locally when needed bythe fantasy sports contest application implemented (at least partially)using set-top box 218. Alternatively, this information may be providedin a continuously-looped arrangement on one or more digital channels onpaths 216. With such a continuously-looped arrangement, a map indicatingthe location of the latest information may be downloaded periodically toset-top box 218 (e.g., once per day). This allows the content on thedigital channels to be updated. The fantasy sports contest applicationon set-top box 218 may use the map to locate desired information on thedigital channels. Another approach involves using a server such asserver 212 or servers 300 (FIG. 3) to provide the information on request(e.g., after set-top box 218 has negotiated with that server to set up adownload operation). For example, the server may provide instructions toset-top box 218 informing set-top box 218 where the desired informationis located on a particular digital channel. The information may beupdated periodically if the server that is responsible for providing theinstructions for informing the set-top box of the location of theinformation is also updated periodically.

A cable modem may be used to distribute the fantasy sports contestapplication and related information. This information may also bedistributed using a combination of these techniques or any othersuitable technique.

As illustrated by FIG. 4, the fantasy sports contest application of thepresent invention may be invoked from a television broadcast of a sportsevent that has been coupled with a fantasy sports contest. The user maytune to the television channel carrying sports broadcast display 400, inwhich an information display 410 notifies the user of a fantasy sportscontest that is available with the television broadcast. The user maythen invoke the fantasy sports contest using user input equipment 112(e.g., a remote control).

The television sports broadcast may be distributed through adistribution system substantially equivalent to that of the fantasysports contest application and related information. The televisionsports broadcast may be a live or tape delayed broadcast of acompetition in a team sport (e.g., football, baseball, basketball,hockey), an individual sport (e.g., tennis, golf), a sport involvinganimals (e.g., dog racing), or any other suitable sporting event. Thetelevision sports broadcasts may be provided by outside contentproviders such as television networks.

Entry in the fantasy sports contest may be free to users, may bepurchased by users, or may be offered as a promotional offering inexchange for purchase of an advertiser's product, or a combinationthereof. FIG. 5 shows an illustrative registration screen 500 that maybe displayed after the fantasy sports application is invoked.Registration screen 500 may include data entry boxes 510 and selectableelements 520 for user entry of identification and payment information.

The fantasy sports contest application may assign the user to acompetitive grouping in the fantasy sports contest. The fantasy sportscontest application may assign the user to a competitive grouping bygeographic location, experience level, a combination of these methods,or any other suitable method. The fantasy sports contest application mayascertain the user's geographic location by identifying the cable systemheadend used by the user. The fantasy sports contest application mayassign users using a certain cable system headend to the samecompetitive group or groups. The fantasy sports contest application mayaccess information on the user's prior entries in fantasy sportscontests, geographic information, demographic information, and othersuitable information to divide users into competitive groups. Thefantasy sports contest application may use information on the user'snumber of entries and performance in prior fantasy sports contests toassign the user a skill level attribute. The fantasy sports contestapplication may divide users into competitive groups according to skilllevel attribute (e.g., novice, rookie, veteran, all-pro). The fantasysports contest application may group users using both geographiclocation and skill level. For example, the users from a particulargeographic location may be split into competitive groups according toskill level. The fantasy sports contest application may also assignusers to leagues on a first come first serve basis, by randomly matchingusers, or by any other suitable method.

The fantasy sports contest application may enable the user to competeagainst a select group of other users (e.g., friends, family) in thefantasy sports contest. In one suitable arrangement, a competitive groupmay be established before the start of a fantasy sports contest. Forexample, entry into the fantasy sports contest may be purchased orotherwise obtained as a group package, where a predetermined number ofusers are allowed to compete in the fantasy sports contest in apre-formed group. A confirmation code may be provided to the users, andeach user in the pre-formed group may separately sign into the fantasysports contest. For example, the confirmation code may be entered inregistration screen 500. The fantasy sports contest application mayenforce the predetermined number of users allowed in a group pass bydenying access to users over the predetermined limit.

The fantasy sports contest application may enable the user to instantlyform a competitive group before the start of a fantasy sports contest.FIG. 6 shows illustrative league forum 600 where the user may, amongother features, chat with other users, search for leagues to join, andform his own league. The fantasy sports contest application may displayleague forum 600 before the start of a fantasy sports contest, when theuser signs into the fantasy sports contest application, or at any othersuitable time. Separate league forums may exist for particulargeographic locations (e.g., a New York league forum), for particularskill levels (e.g., a Rookie league forum), etc. Alternatively, auniversal league forum may be available to all users of a fantasy sportscontest application.

League forum 600 may include display 610 showing the competitive groupsor leagues that have room for additional users. Display 610 may include,for each league, an identifying name of the league (e.g., name of theuser forming the league), geographic location of the league, skill levelof the league, and the number of empty slots still available in theleague. The skill level displayed in display 610 may be the averagedskill level of the users currently signed up in the league, may be thedesired skill level of users being sought for the league, or may be theskill level required to join the league. Selectable element 614 may beprovided next to each display 610 that enables the user to join theselected league upon user selection. The user forming a league may havethe power to reject any user that wishes to join the league, and may putup requirements as to the attributes of allowed users (e.g., skilllevel).

The fantasy sports contest application may enable the user may createthe user's own league by selecting element 630 in league forum 600. FIG.7 shows illustrative menu 700 that, may be displayed to the user uponuser selection of element 630. Menu 700 may enable the user to customizeoptions concerning the new league. The user may use text entry box 702to control the maximum number of users allowed in the league, andselection boxes 704 to implement limiting criteria on what type of usermay join the league. For example, the user may use drop down boxes 706to choose a minimum skill level of “Veteran” for those users wishing tojoin the league. Any users not meeting the criteria may be automaticallyprevented by the fantasy sports contest application from joining theleague. The skill level of the user may be assigned by the fantasysports contest application, or the user may self select his or her skilllevel.

One of the criteria that the user may select in menu 700 is a “BuddiesOnly” criteria that allows only select users to join the league. Uponuser selection of element 704 representing the “Buddies Only” criteria,the fantasy sports contest application may enable the user to enter andedit a list of privileged users that the user wishes to designate as“Buddies.” As shown in FIG. 8, the user may be able to use menu 800 toenter and edit a list of select users. The user's “Buddies” may bedisplayed using elements 802, which may be deleted using selectableelements 804. The user may select element 806 to add a user to the list.

The fantasy sports contest application may enable the user to searchthrough all available leagues using suitable criteria. FIG. 9 shows asearch menu 900 that the fantasy sports contest application may displayupon user selection of search element 620 of FIG. 6. Menu 900 mayinclude search box 910 that allows the user to search leagues by username, user nickname, or other user identifier. Search results may bedisplayed in display 610 of FIG. 6. Similarly, search boxes 920 and 930may enable the user to search by geographic location of the league, andby skill level of the league. The fantasy sports contest application mayenable the user to search using a combination of these criteria, orusing other suitable criteria.

A fantasy sports contest in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention is based on the real-life performance of the user'sroster of athletes over a subevent of a real-life sports event. Asillustrated by FIG. 10, a sports season, on which known traditionalfantasy sports contests are based, may be divided into a plurality ofindividual sports events. In turn, each sports event may be furtherdivided into a plurality of subevents, wherein individual subevents maybe further divisible into subevents. Fantasy sports contests of thepresent invention may be based on subevents within individual sportsevents. For example, a professional golf season is made up of a numberof tournaments, each tournament consisting of four rounds ofcompetition, and each round consisting of eighteen holes of golf. Stillfurther, each hole of golf consists of a number of strokes of play byeach golfer. In this example, a single tournament may be defined as anindividual sports event, and any further divisions of the tournament maybe defined as subevents. Alternatively, a single round of golf may bedefined as an individual sports event.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest may be presentedalong with a television broadcast of an associated sports event. Asillustrated in FIG. 11, fantasy sports contest information region 1120may be displayed in conjunction with television broadcast 1110. Region1120 may include fantasy sports contest information 1130, rosterselection element 1140, and instant messaging tool 1150. Fantasy sportscontest information 1130 may be any information related to the fantasysports contest, such a point ranking of the user's competitive group.Instant messaging tool 1150 may be substantially equivalent to instantmessaging tool 650 of FIG. 6, and may enable the user to communicatewith other users in the fantasy sports contest.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the user may be alerted when fantasy sportscontest scoring occurs in the real-life action depicted by televisionbroadcast 1110. For example, an athlete on the user's fantasy sportscontest team roster may score fantasy points by performing actionsworthy of reward under the rules of the fantasy sports contest. Scoringalert bar 1112 may be displayed upon the scoring of fantasy points thatmay include information such as the name of the athlete, a descriptionof the action that resulted in the scoring of fantasy points, and thenumber of fantasy points scored.

FIG. 12 shows illustrative roster selection screen 1200 that may bedisplayed by the fantasy sports contest application upon user selectionof element 1140 in FIG. 11. Screen 1200 may enable the user to chooseand alter the user's fantasy sports contest team roster by placingavailable athletes, represented by elements 1220, into team roster spots1210. The athletes available for selection may be limited to thoseathletes competing in the televised sports event. Roster selectionscreen 1200 may be displayed to the user before the start of a fantasysports contest to prompt initial selection of the user's roster, and maybe accessed by the user at any point during the fantasy sports contestto alter the user's roster.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for providing a fantasysports contest based on the performance of a roster of athletes over asubevent of a real-life sports event. At step 1302, the fantasy sportscontest application is invoked. At step 1304, the fantasy sports contestapplication enables the user to select a roster of real-life athletesthat are competing in the currently televised sports event. The fantasysports contest application then scores the user's performance in thefantasy sports contest based on the real-life performance of the user'sroster of athletes over a subevent of the sports event (step 1306).

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayprovide the user with fantasy sports contests having staggered starttimes. For example, the user tuning into a fantasy sports contestenabled television broadcast may not wish to wait until the end of thecurrent subevent based fantasy sports contest to begin competing. In onesuitable arrangement, the fantasy sports contest application may createfantasy sports contests at predetermined intervals by grouping togetherusers that indicated a desire to enter the fantasy sports contest duringthe predetermined interval. For example, the fantasy sports contestapplication may start a fantasy sports contest based on a subevent(e.g., the next ten minutes of competition, or the rest of the sportsevent) every fifteen seconds, where the users who indicated a desire tojoin within the past fifteen seconds are grouped together forcompetition in the new fantasy sports contest.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for providing staggeredstart fantasy sports contests. At step 1402, the fantasy sports contestapplication is invoked. The user indicates a desire to join the fantasysports contest (step 1404). The fantasy sports contest applicationbegins a new staggered fantasy sports contest at a predeterminedinterval including the user as a competitor.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayinstantaneously begin a fantasy sports contest upon the user indicatinga desire to compete. In one suitable arrangement, the fantasy sportscontest application may instantaneously start a fantasy sports contestbased on reaching preset score levels, which may represent levels ofprizes being offered in the fantasy sports contest. By allowing the userto compete against score levels, the fantasy sports contest applicationenables instant user participation in the fantasy sports contest.Alternatively, the fantasy sports contest application may instantlybegin a fantasy sports contest by grouping together other users thatindicate a desire to compete at a time substantially instantaneous tothe user.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for providing instantstart fantasy sports contests. At step 1502, the fantasy sports contestapplication is invoked. The user indicates a desire to join the fantasysports contest (step 1504). The fantasy sports contest applicationinstantly begins a new fantasy sports contest including the user as acompetitor (step 1506).

In one suitable approach illustrated by FIG. 16, the fantasy sportscontest application may simultaneously implement multiple fantasy sportscontests having different themes and scoring rules based on the sametelevised sports event. For example, the fantasy sports contestapplication may simultaneously present multiple fantasy basketballcontests, each having different rules for converting real-life action tofantasy points, for the same real-life basketball contest. As shown inFIG. 16, the fantasy sports contest application may display menu 1600upon the fantasy sports contest application being invoked that enablesthe user to choose a favored fantasy sports contest to join from amongavailable selections 1602. Menu 1600 may also include summaries of theavailable selections that may include themes, scoring rules, duration,and other suitable information on the selections.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for simultaneouslyproviding multiple, different fantasy sports contests based on the sametelevised sports contest. At step 1702, the fantasy sports contestapplication is invoked. At step 1704, the fantasy sports contestapplication enables the user to select between multiple, differentfantasy sports contests based on the same televised sports contest. Userselects a fantasy sports contest (step 1706), and the fantasy sportscontest application places the user in the selected fantasy sportscontest (step 1708).

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application maydivide a fantasy sports contest into subcontests. For example, fantasybasketball contest application may divide a fantasy basketball contestinto subcontests on three point shots, on rebounds, on field goalpercentage, on assists, etc. The user's fantasy sports contest teamroster may be scored based on each individual subcontest to determinewhether the user has won any of the subcontests. In one suitablearrangement, the user may be automatically entered in the subcontestswhen competing in the main fantasy sports contest. In one suitablearrangement, the user may choose to compete in the main fantasy sportscontest, any subcontests, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for providing subcontestswithin a main fantasy sports contest. At step 1802, the fantasy sportscontest is invoked. The fantasy sports contest application enables theuser to select a roster of real-life athletes competing in a currentlytelevised sports event (step 1804). The fantasy sports contestapplication scores the main fantasy sports contest and individualsubcontests based on the real-life performance of the user's roster ofathletes (step 1806).

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fantasy sports contestapplication may implement fantasy sports contests that pose to the userbonus questions. In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contestmay pose bonus questions asking the user for predictions on the outcomesreal-life action occurring during subevents of the sports event. Forexample, a fantasy sports contest may query the user on whether acertain basketball team will score (e.g., either fantasy or real-lifepoints) in the next two minutes of the contest, whether a golfer willhit into the water on the next stroke, whether a football team will leadafter the next quarter of play, etc. A correct answer may earn the userfantasy points, whereas an incorrect answer may earn no points, or mayresult in the deduction of points.

As illustrated in FIG. 19, an illustrative display screen of a fantasysports contest involving bonus questions may include broadcast 1910 of arelated sports event, and fantasy sports contest information region1920. Bonus questions may be displayed to the user in display region1922 of region 1920, which may also include other relevant fantasysports contest information. Display region 1922 may display the bonusquestion and the number of fantasy points being awarded for a correctprediction. Selectable elements 1924 may be provided in region 1922 toenable the user to lock in an answer to the bonus question being posed.Multiple bonus questions may be pending at any one time during thefantasy sports contest. For example, a bonus question may be presentedat the beginning of the contest asking for a prediction on which teamwill be leading in the real-life contest at the end of the first fiveminutes of play, while another question may be posed two minute into thefantasy sports contest asking for a prediction on who will score thenext time down the court. Accordingly, each bonus question is posed tothe user and an answer is recorded within a predetermined time frame.The bonus question then comes to maturation at some point during thefantasy sports contest (e.g., at the five minute mark, or after the nexttrip down court) and fantasy points may be awarded, not awarded, ordeducted depending on the answers supplied by the user. The fantasysports contest application may require the user to answer the bonusquestion within a predetermined time frame. All answers given after theprovided time frame may be disregarded. Display 1922 may include timer1926 that informs the user of how much time remains before an answer tothe bonus question is required.

It should be understood that although the subject of the bonus questionsin this approach may be subevents, a fantasy sports contest involvingbonus questions is not limited to a contest based on a segment of asports event (e.g., a subevent) and may be a traditional fantasy sportscontest (e.g., a fantasy sports contest based on an entire season).

Alternatively, the bonus questions may not be based on subevents, andmay be trivia questions or other types of challenges that may be relatedto the theme of a television broadcast being shown or the athletes onthe user's fantasy sports contest roster.

In one suitable arrangement, bonus questions may be used to supplementfantasy scoring by the user's fantasy sports contest team roster. Inthis case, the bonus questions posed to the user may be, at leastpartially, based on the athletes on the user's fantasy sports contestteam roster. For example, if the user's fantasy sports contest rosterincludes a particularly athlete, the fantasy sports contest applicationmay query the user with trivia questions or other challenges having thatparticular athlete as a theme. Alternatively, the bonus questions may bescored independently as a separate interactive sports contest that iskept separate from the regular fantasy sports contest scoring.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for providing bonusquestions based on subevents with a fantasy sports contest application.At step 2002, the fantasy sports contest application is invoked. Thefantasy sports contest application poses a bonus question to the userasking for a prediction on the outcome of real-life action during asubevent (step 2004). The user makes a prediction on the outcome (step2006). The fantasy sports contest application scores the bonus questionbased on the user's prediction and the actual outcome (step 2008).

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fantasy sports contestapplication may enable the user to instantly create a fantasy sportscontest based on subevents with a select group of other users. The userbeing able to set the rules and duration of the fantasy sports contest.For example, the user watching a basketball contest may instantly createa fantasy basketball contest based on rebounds and assists for the nextfive minutes of play. The user may be able to assign desired pointvalues to be awarded for each rebound and each assist, and may designatethe duration of the subevent over which the fantasy sports contest willoccur. The user may propose the user created fantasy sports contest toselect other users, who may elect to participate in the fantasy sportscontest. These users may then choose rosters of athletes to compete inthe user created fantasy sports contest.

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative display screen including televisionbroadcast 2110 of a related sports event, and fantasy sports contestinformation region 2120. Fantasy sports contest information region 2120may include “Create Contest” selectable element 2122 for creating a usercustomized fantasy sports contest based on subevents. As illustrated byFIG. 22, user selection of element 2122 may cause the fantasy sportscontest application to display contest edit menu 2200. Menu 2200 mayenable the user to edit the types of plays to be awarded fantasy points,as well as how many points should be awarded for each type of play. Theuser may use selection boxes 2202 to select the types of plays to beawarded fantasy points, such as three point shots in a basketball game.The user may use text entry boxes 2204 to customize how many pointsshould be awarded for each type of play. Drop down menu 2210 may enablethe user to designate the duration (e.g., the subevent) over which thefantasy sports contest will take place. User selection of send element2206 may send the user created fantasy sports contest to the usersdesignated in a “Buddies” list, which may be substantially equivalent tothe “Buddies” selected in menu 810 of FIG. 8. The user may use menu 2200to create multiple fantasy sports contests based on the same televisedsports contest, which may run, at least in part, concurrently with eachother.

As illustrated in FIG. 23, the fantasy sports contest application mayalert the users receiving the proposed fantasy sports contest bydisplaying message 2310. Message 2310 may include the details of theproposed fantasy sports contest and selectable elements 2312 foraccepting or declining the proposed fantasy sports contest. The fantasysports contest application may enter the accepting users into theproposed fantasy sports contest over the prescribed duration orsubevent. The fantasy sports contest may display to the accepting usersa roster selection screen substantially equivalent to that of FIG. 12 toenable the users to select a roster for competition in the user createdfantasy sports contest.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for enabling the user tocreate customized fantasy sports contests. At step 2402, the fantasysports contest application is invoked. The fantasy sports contestapplication enables the user to customize a fantasy sports contest basedon a subevent (step 2404). The user sends the customized fantasy sportscontest to select other users (step 2406). The fantasy sports contestapplication enters the accepting users into the customized fantasysports contest (step 2408).

In one suitable arrangement, the fantasy sports contest application mayenable the user to propose bonus questions to other users asking for aprediction on the outcome of real-life action during a subevent. Asshown in FIG. 21, the fantasy sports contest application may provide theuser with “Create Bonus Question” element 2124. User selection ofelement 2124 may cause the fantasy sports contest application to displaymenu 2500 as shown in FIG. 25. Within menu 2500, the user may use dropdown menu 2510 to select a subject for the bonus question, such as ateam or an athlete competing in a televised sports event. The user mayuse drop down menu 2220 to select an action to be predicted in the bonusquestion, such as whether a subject will score (e.g., real-life orfantasy scoring), whether a subject will perform a certain type of play(e.g., hit a home run), whether a subject will be in the lead in thesports event, etc. The user may use drop down menu 2530 to select theduration or subevent over which the prediction is to be made. The usermay also stipulate the value of the bonus question using text entry box2540. User selection of send element 2502 may send the bonus question toone or more select users on a “Buddies” list substantially equivalent tothe list created in menu 810 of FIG. 8. The user created bonus questionmay be displayed to the selected users as well as the originating userin a manner substantially equivalent to that of display 1922 in FIG. 19,and the bonus questions may function in a manner substantiallyequivalent to previously described bonus questions.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for enabling the user topropose customized bonus questions to select other users. At step 2602,the fantasy sports contest application is invoked. The fantasy sportscontest application enables the user to customize a bonus questionasking for a prediction on the outcome of real-life action during asubevent (step 2604). The user sends the customized bonus question toselect other users, as well as the originating user (step 2606). Theusers each make a prediction on the outcome (step 2608). The fantasysports contest application scores the bonus questions based on theusers' predictions and the actual outcome (step 2610).

In one embodiment of the present invention, a local provider (e.g., alocal cable system operator) may create a local fantasy sports contestbased on a television broadcast being shown locally. For example, theYES Network™ may provide a fantasy sports contest to users in itsoperating area based on televised New York Yankees™ baseball contests.The fantasy sports contest may enable the user to select a roster ofathletes from the Yankees™ baseball team, and may base the user'sperformance in the fantasy sports contest based on the roster'sperformance in subevents of Yankees™ baseball games (e.g., three inningsof a game). The fantasy sports contest application may provide bonusquestions based on predicting the outcome of real-life action during asubevent (e.g., predicting whether a batter will make an out or reachbase). The fantasy sports contest application may also provide bonusquestions that focus on the Yankees™ theme, or that are related to theYankees™ athletes on the user's roster.

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest application of the presentinvention may implement a fantasy sports contest based on subevents thatinvolves more than one sports event. In one suitable approach, thefantasy sports contest may involve a series of sports events over aperiod of time (e.g., a weekend). For example, the fantasy sportscontest may combine the fantasy points earned by the user during each ofmultiple sports events to arrive at a final tally. In one suitablearrangement, the fantasy sports contest may weight the fantasy pointsearned by the user during each of the multiple sports events toemphasize the value of one or more of the sports events. In one suitablearrangement, the fantasy sports contest may be sponsored by a singletelevision network, and may involve a series of sports events beingtelevised on the network over a period of time. The multiple sportsevents involved in the fantasy sports contest may be mixed. For example,a boxing match may be combined with a football game and a basketballgame. Alternatively, the multiple sports contests may be carried bymultiple television networks, and may involve the same sport (e.g., aseries of basketball games).

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest of the present inventionmay be used to implement a fantasy sports contest based on subeventsthat allows the user to interact with the real-life action of sportsevent being televised. In one suitable approach, the fantasy sportscontest application may enable the user to select a roster of athletesfrom those competing in the televised sports event. The user may thensimulate the real-life action in the sports event involving thoseathletes to earn contest points. In one example, the user of a fantasybaseball contest according to this embodiment of the present inventionmay select a roster of players competing in a televised baseballcontest. When a player on the user's roster comes up to bat (or inanother embodiment, whenever a player comes up to the plate), the usermay be able to use an electronic sports game interface to virtually tryto swing at a pitch. For example, depending on when the user “swings,”the ball may be fouled off, hit on the field of play, hit for a homerun, or missed. The system may use a button on a conventional remotecontrol as the means for the user to indicate when he or she wishes toswing. In one suitable arrangement, the fantasy sports contest mayincorporate the performance of the user in the simulation game inaddition to the regular scoring of the fantasy sports contest based onsubevents. Alternatively, the scoring derived from the simulation gamemay be kept separate from the regular fantasy scoring.

In one embodiment, the present invention may be applied to a non-sportssetting. For example, the present invention may be applied to a fantasycontest relating to the Academy Awards™, (a.k.a., the Oscars™). The usermay be asked to choose a roster of actors and actresses in each awardcategory, and may be able to trade, swap, and otherwise change theroster after the start of the award show. The fantasy contest may beover a subevent of the award show, such as five award announcements. Thefantasy contest application may pose bonus questions asking for aninstant prediction on the winner of a particular award. The fantasysports contest application may pose bonus questions using themes fromthe user's roster of picks, the instant action in the award show, andother relevant factors. In general, all aspects of the present inventiondescribed in a sports related setting may be easily adapted for use inany non-sports setting.

Thus, systems and methods for providing fantasy sports contests based,in whole or in part, on subevents have been taught. One skilled in theart will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by otherthan the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes ofillustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limitedonly by the claims which follow.

1-32. (canceled)
 33. A method for providing interactive sports content,the method comprising: determining an occurrence of subevents in areal-life sports event; in response to determining an upcoming subeventin the real-life sports event, generating a simulation of the upcomingsubevent; receiving a user input from an electronic sports gameinterface for the simulated subevent; and generating an outcome of thesimulated subevent based at least in part on the user input.
 34. Themethod of claim 33 further comprising: creating a fantasy sports contestbased on at least one of the subevents in the real-life sports event.35. The method of claim 34 further comprising: receiving a user selectedroster of participants from those competing in the real-life sportsevent for inclusion in the fantasy sports contest.
 36. The method ofclaim 35, wherein determining the occurrence of subevents in thereal-life sports event comprises: determining that a participant of theselected roster of participants is involved in a play.
 37. The method ofclaim 34 further comprising: assigning a contest score to the user basedon a number of points awarded to the user.
 38. The method of claim 37,wherein the number of points awarded to the user is based on an outcomeof the simulated subevent of the real-life sports event.
 39. The methodof claim 38, wherein the number of points awarded to the user is furtherbased on the performance of a participant of the selected roster in thesubevent of the real-life sports event.
 40. The method of claim 36,wherein the number of points awarded to the user is further based on anoutcome of the upcoming subevent.
 41. The method of claim 33, whereinthe electronic sports game user interface is a remote control.
 42. Themethod of claim 33, wherein the real-life sports event is selected fromthe group comprising a football game, baseball game, basketball game,hockey game, soccer game, rugby game, golf match, tennis match, carrace, and animal race.
 43. A system for providing interactive sportscontent, the system comprising: an electronic sports game interface; andprocessing circuitry configured to: determine an occurrence of subeventsin a real-life sports event; generate a simulation of an upcomingsubevent, in response to the determining the upcoming subevent in thereal-life sports event; receive a user input from an electronic sportsgame interface for the simulated subevent; and generate an outcome ofthe simulated subevent based at least in part on the user input.
 44. Thesystem of claim 43 wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: create a fantasy sports contest based on at least one ofthe subevents in the real-life sports event.
 45. The system of claim 44wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: receive auser selected roster of participants from those competing in thereal-life sports event for inclusion in the fantasy sports contest. 46.The system of claim 45 wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: determine that a participant of the selected roster ofparticipants is involved in a play.
 47. The system of claim 44 whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to: assign a contestscore to the user based on a number of points awarded to the user. 48.The system of claim 47, wherein the number of points awarded to the useris based on an outcome of the simulated subevent of the real-life sportsevent.
 49. The system of claim 48, wherein the number of points awardedto the user is further based on the performance of a participant of theselected roster in the subevent of the real-life sports event.
 50. Thesystem of claim 46, wherein the number of points awarded to the user isfurther based on an outcome of the upcoming subevent.
 51. The system ofclaim 43, wherein the electronic sports game user interface is a remotecontrol.
 52. The system of claim 43, wherein the real-life sports eventis selected from the group comprising a football game, baseball game,basketball game, hockey game, soccer game, rugby game, golf match,tennis match, car race, and animal race.